Button-setting machine.



E. P. STENMAN. l BUTTON SETTING,MALHINE.y APPLICATION FILED'FEB.23,1912.

1,057,894, Patlnted Apr. 1, 1913,

3 SHEBTS-BHEET k3.

UNITED sTaTEsrATENT oEEioE.

ELIS E. STENMAN, OE WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOB, 'EYMESNEASSIVGN-MENTS, To INDEPENDENT BUTTON EASTENEE MACHINE. co. (TNQ), OE BOSTON,

MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OE MASSACHUSETTS.

BUTTON-SETTING MACHINE.

kSpecification of Letters Patent. --Pa,fented Apr. 1, 1913,

Appueancn ined February 23, 1912. serial No. 679,361.

To ou whom t may concern.'

Be it kno-wn that I, ELis F. SrENirAN, a citizen of the United States,residing at 2 Adolf street, lVorcester, county of Worcester,Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented Certain new andnsefullmprove ments in Button-Setting Machines, of which the followingis aspeciication.

This invention relates to button-fastening machines and moreparticularly, to suchV machines as are adapted to attach buttons bymeans of fasteners formed by the machines from wire drawn from the coil.In machines ot' this type, which are or may be placed in the handsofroutine mechanics 'and away from the superinten'dence of expertlminds, it is very desirable that the parts be so prof teeted thatnotampering therewith may be attempted, so that an accurate check uponwork may be obtained through periodical visits rather than constantsupervision. For this purpose l have provided a niachine which may belocked, the material to be used being fed into the same by the operativeand the checking of the material so used. being entirely out of saidoperatires control.

To the end of certainty of operation and arrurary of result. togetherwith structural simplicity and the element of portability. l.hared'erised the Several features of my invention which lwill more fullyset fort-h in the succeeding specification.l As illustrative et' myinventionfl hare shown and will describe a machine embodying theseprinciples which l ha \'e 'fe-und well adapted to theends sought.

I Throughout` the speeitication andY drawings like reference charactersare employed to indicate eorrespoiuling parts and in the drawings whichaccompany and form part of this specification, Figure 1 is a plan Viewwith the casing removed,li`ig. is a sertion on line 2 2 of Fig. 1, Fig.3 is a ser-tion on offset line 3-3 of Fig. 2,`Fig. l is a sideelevation, the casing' and parts of the mechanism being removed, Fig. isa section on the line 5h13 ot' Fig. l, Fig. (3 is an enlarged partialplan view, similar to Fig. 1, Figs. 7, 8 and 9 represent several stagesof the work in plan. Fig. 10 is a front elevation ot' the forming dies,Fig. 1l is a View of the feed trougli toe looking as the arrow points inFig. 4, and Fig. 12is a detail of the yielding tooth construction of thehopper feed. I

My button setting machine comprises a frame 1 which supports a. casing 2Within which the Working parts are inclosed. An opening 21 in the casing2 permits the margins of the Working parts to come in Contact with theupper of the Shoe upon-which the 6, the .latter being .fed through theframe l.

at 7 and thence to the wire feeding rolls 8.

lith the hopper 4 filled and the wire 6 in place on the bracket 5, theentireaction of the machine is automatic. depending, as shown in thedrawings. entirely upon the operation of a treadle slide 9, and theproper positioning of the upper u. Of course, my machine mayy be adaptedfor power by slightly' extending the shaft 10 and mounting thereon aclutch mechanism of any well known type, and proper pulleys, or gearing;but as these machines are designed mainly for use in places that arewithout power, I have illustrated my preferred'embodiment as of the footpower style.

AA raeeway 11. and wings 12 are proxided within the hopper area and alsoa perforated disk 13 adapted to tip ont of the raeeway 11 and bark tothe hopper L all such buttons as have not been properly seated in theraceway. The toe 1.4, similarly provided with a raceway 111v and wings12, takes a steeper' `ol.2 the carriages 41.

For the operation of the carriages, l mount' on the shaft 10 a so-calledbroken gear 17 which is keyed to thelshaft 10 and supplied with two setsof teeth 18 each adapted to engage teeth. 19 of the vertical slide 20.Each gear segment has a leading pawl tooth. From the slide 2O aprojecting arm 21 is provided with a pair of lforks 22 which engage thepins 23 on the carriages 41. The slide 2O and the carriages 4l drop bygravity as soon a's either set of teeth 18 passes out of engagement withthe teeth 19 and the gear 17 will be so mounted upon the shaft that whenthe machine is at rest, the carriages 41 are down and the lower end otthe slide protrudes through and below the :trame 1. The spring tooth 191yields in each segment when it begins to engage the rack, (see Fig. 12),in order to permit the engagement of the teeth of the gear 17 with theteeth 19 of the rack without liability to break the last tooth on therack upon which the lirst impact of engagement falls. The singlerevolution oli' the shaft 10 for such button fastening operation causesa double rise of the carriages 41, but il this should not suflice tokeep the raceway 1l properly supplied, the operator may grasp the slide2() and work it up and down several times while the machine is at restuntil a sullicient quantity of buttons has been supplied to the raceway11. Ordinarily, the automatic action of the carriages 41 will snliiceand the. hand operation just described is only tor einergencies.

l'lhe wire feeding rolls 8 are provided with intermeshing gears 25 and251, the latter oi" which is in mesh with the gear 26 loosely mounted onthe shelf 27 by a stud 28. Fast on top ot the gear 2G is a ratchet 29adapted for engagement by a spring controlled pawl 30 attached pivotallyto the under side of a lever 31 which, in turn, is pivotally mounted onthe stud 28. The opposite' end 311 of the lever 3l is adapted `'forengagement withy either ot the lugs 32 on a slide bar 33 pivotallymounted on the trame 1 by a screw bolt 34 which works loosely through'aslot 35 in the bar 323, said slot being adapted 'to permit the passagetherethrough of the wire 6.' Near its opposite end the bar 33 is MLosanna later to be described. The stop pin 43 limits the action of thespring 44 'on the pawl 40.

The rear end ol the bar 33 is adapted for en- Y gagement by a linger 45of a lever pivotally mounted on the frame 1 at 46 (Fig. 1) for thepurpose of raising. the rear end of the bar 33 on its pivot 34 until thefork 36 is disengaged from the head 37. The movement of the bar 33 isprompted by the loose lit of the holt 34 in the slot 35. The object of'said, raising will be later described.

The arm 38 is adapted to be oscillated by a linger or screw 47 on thecollar 48 fast on the shaftI 10. A spring 49 tends to keep the arm 38alwa s against the collar 49.v l At the opposite en of the lshaft 10 iskeyed a cam 50 adapted to operate. the arm 51 to which the cup-shapedarm 15 is adjustably attached at 52 (see Fig. 4). Y is pivotally mountedon the stud 53 by rmeans of a slotted opening 54 and a shoulder '55thereon is kept in engagement with the cam 50 by a spring 56 until thelug 501 of the cam 50 enters into engagement with a hinged plate 57normally held down by a spring 58. The rear end 59 of the arm 51 isadapted to raise, under certain conditions, the short arml of the lever60 which is pivotally mounted on the frame 1 at 61. The opposite arm ofthe lever 60 is adapted to depress the short arm of the lever 45 rockingit on its pivot 46.

llfhe dies 62, 63 and 64 are slidably mounted in the frame 1 for forwardand backward movement, their rear ends being forked at 65 to engage theheads 66 of their respective lingers 67 pivotally mounted on a pin 68(see Figs 2 and They are adapted to be operated by the cams, 69, 70 and71, respectively, said cams being :fast on the shaft 10. Althoughsprings could be employed to hold the lingers 67 against theirrespective, cams,

I prefer to control said ngers by ni'eans ot' a slide 7 2 A the forwardend olf which is provided with an arm 73 adapted'to engage all Iot thelingers 67. The rear end 74 is adapt- =ed for engagement by a cam 75tast on the `shaft 10 'to cause the arm 73 to move the fingers 67rearwardly when required.

A block 76 with a forming head 77 is slidably mounted within the frame 1and is adapted to be raised and lowered. by the The arm 51 pin 78 which'loosely engages the slotted"- end of a cam lever 79. The cam lever 79.is pivoted between its ends at 80-and isola@- gaged at its `oppositeend by a cam dition the shaft 10.

The count-ing mechanism comprises three pointers 83, 84, and 85,. eachadaptedto co,

operate with an indicating dial 86 on a .cover plate 87. The stud 831carries fast thereon the ratchet 42 anda finger 832 for engaging theteeth'of a pinion 88 on the stud 8111. The stud 8111 also carries aFinger 8112 for engaging the teeth of a pinion 89 on the stud 851. Thestud 851 also carries a iinger 852 (see Fig. 6) adapted to engage a lug90 on a ratchet lever 91, pivotally mounted on the frame 1 at 92 andheld outwardly by a spring 95 against the walls of an Opening 93 in theshelf 27, or if preferred, against a head (not shown) on the pivot 92.The ratchet lever is held by gravity against the teeth of a ratchet 911fast on the shaft 10, its width being somewhat less than said teethasbest seen in Fig. 6. The ratchet 911 is fast upon the shaft 10 whilethe pulley 111 is loose thereon, being retained in position by a collar96.

The shaft 10 is designed to advance one complete revolution for eachdepression of a treadle 9 and a weight 112 carries the pulley 111 -backto starting position when the pressure on the treadle 9 is removed'where it is ready to cause another advance. of the shaft 10. The clutchmechanism by which this is accomplished comprises a pin 9111 slidablysupported withinthe pulley 111 and held against the ratchet 911 by aleaf spring 943. An inclined cam groove 9112 is adapted to receive theforward end of the -pin 941 and provide a shoulder with which it willengage during the depression of the treadle 9. n the return of thepulley 111, the cam groove 942 forces the withdrawal of the pin 941which is free to again drop into said groove at the completion of thereturn. I do not claim this mechanism as new in itself nor do I limitmyself 4to its use.

llVhen it is desired to prepare the Inachine for operation a startingweight 100 vis dropped on the free end of the lever 91 and raises itsheavier end free from the teeth of the ratchet 911 and against a stoppin 101 in. the frame 1. The weight 100 forms one of a series which arelocked Within a chute 102, the lower end of said chute being 'adapted toreceive one at a time .vhile the upper end of the weight that rests onthe lever 91 projects into the Apath of the remaining weights in thechute 102 and lprevents them from feeding forward into droppingposition. To prevent friction between these adjacent. weights frominterfering with the free dropping of the first mentioned, I prefer toadd a spring pressed pin 103 mounted on Said chute,l the inner `end ofwhich bears normally 'against said remain-v ing weights. A springcontrolled sliding cam lug 1011 mounted on the casing 2 directly abovethe pin 103 is adapted to retract the pin 103 against its springflO atthe desired moment. Beneaththe chute 102 andA secured to the frame 1 isan inclined Adetains the most forward butt-on.

trough 106 which carries the dropped weight 100 to a box 107 which islocked in said frame by means of a lock 108.

, The treadle 9 is' attached to a cord or wire -110 which passes arounda drum 111 fast on the shaft 10 and to a weight 112.

When the machine is set up for operation by a workman, the chute 102 isfilled with weights 100 and locked by a lock 113, the triangular block114C serving to ho'ld the weights 100 in Vertical position. The boX 107is empty `and the counting mechanism is set at zero. The keys to thelocks 108 and V113 are then taken' away bythe setter up so theoperatorhas no access tothe interior except through the door 3 in thecasing 2. The operator then lls the hopper 11 with buttons B through thedoor 3 and places a reel of wire 6 on the bracket 5', feeding the wire 6through the opening 7 to the feeding rolls 8. He then places a key onthe stem 81 and feeds the wire 6 through the block 11 in the frame 1until the end is flush with the farther face of said block. The glasstop 22 enables him tol watch his-operations. This feed of the wire 6through the block 11 causes one or more complete unit lengths of thewire 6 to pass the rolls 8 and I prefer to'.

tongue and groove said rolls for the purpose of forming a crimp 61 atthe center of each unit length for a purpose to be described. Theoperator next depresses the cam lug 104 which retracts the pin 103 andallows the nearestweight to drop on the forward end of lever 91 andraise the same out of engagement .with the ratchet 911 and against thestop lpin 101. He'next places by hand some of the buttons B on theraceway 11, on which they slide till theyielding stop 1111 With a reelof the wire 6 sufficiently long and suiiicient` buttons B in the hopper11: he is non1 ready to fasten one thousand buttons on the uppers uI bysuccessive foot pressures on the -treadle 9, he meanwhile holding theupper u pivot 53 and against the action of the spring 56. When the cupshaped arm 15 meets the button B the further upward movement of the rearend of the lever 51 (due to the superior' stiffness of the spring 58over that of the spring 57) is arrested'before the lug 501 finishesits'lifting movement. The further lift of the lug 50 compresses thespring 58 allowing the plate 57 to recede wit-hin the 501 meets theshoulder 55 on the arm 5l, the

latter is moved forward (by reason of the` slot 54) against the actionof the spring 56 untilthe lug 501 is carried beyond they inlinence ofthe shoulder 55, whereupon the arm 5l immediately raises its forward endywith the cup shaped arm l5 and retreats to its initial position, boththrough' the influence of the spring 56. While the forwardbutton isreaching the position shown in Fig. 3 the cam action of the screw head47 (see Fig. 5) is causing the slide bar 33 to move forward, registeringone count through the ratchet 42 and pawl 40. This causes the lever 3lto carry the, pawl 30 hack for a fresh t-ooth on the ratchet 29, Neat,the cam 48 causes the return of the' slide 33, brings the pawl 40 intoposition to make another count. and feeds the wire 6 across the spaceinfront of the forming .dies AG2, 63, and (34 and through the shanlrS ofthe button B. (See Fig. 7.) The cams 69, and 7l next operate to .movethe fingers 67, and the dies 62, 63 amd64 forward. against the forminghead 77 which has been brought upto position by its cam 8l. lWhen thedie 63 meets the block 77 its cam 7() causes a pause while its mates 62and 64 are carried forward to the position shown in Fig. 8, a. slighthump on the two cams 69 and 7l being indicated by a dotted line marked69 in Fig. 3.

Fig. 8 shows the wire 6 turned and cut the action of the die 64 againstthe block l1 and supported in horizontal position in the half grooves Xon the face of the die 33 (Fig. l0) and the inner sides of the dies G2and 64. rlhe three dies 62, 63 and 64 now pause While the forming head77 descends to its original position and then further action of the cams69, 70 and 7l moves all three dies with the turned wire 6 forwarduntilthe dies 62 and 64 contact with the upper on the block 120,whereupon they pause while the center die 63 is forced forward by itsCani 70 vto form the clench shown in Fig. 9. The three dies are thenretracted to the original position and the sequence ofoperations justdescribed is repeated. After the wire 6 has been out by the die G4, the`severed portion is but slightly retained within the half groove K onthe face of the die G3 and the half grooves Y in the faces of the dies62 and 64. `By forming the crimp 61 at the feed rolls 8 thisl crimp,hanging lon the shank t3 serves' to help the wire G retain its positionuntil the forward motion of the dies 62, 63 and 64` clench its position.

When one thousand buttons have been set the lug 852 engages the lug 90to push the lever 91 against the act-ion of the spring 95 until theweight 100 is free to drop through and into the trough 106. rlthispermits the lever 91 to engage the teeth of the ratchet 94 andlock themachine. To continueop- Lost/,eea

locks 108 and 113 and transfers the Weights in the box 107 to the chute102, keeping Y'count of the number so transferred.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2, 4, and 5, the purpose of the pivoted plate 57and the.levers 60 and 46 will be explained. It will be remembered thatthe Wire is fed into the machine through the rolls 8 and the buttons bymeans of the raceway ll. If through care= lessness of the operator thefoot lever y9 isdepressed when Athere is nobutton B against the stop 14it is preferable to prevent Wire feed and count for that revolution.Inman.. tionng the action of the arm 51 'reference was had to the buttonoperating to limit the upward movement of the rear end of said arm.Should there be no button in position the cup shaped arm l5 is free todescend y through a greater arc and as' there .is no re-A sistance therear end of the arm will be further raised than when the but-ton B is inplace. This extra lift of the tail 59 causes an operation of levers 60and 46 to cause the arm 45 to raise the bar 33 about its pivot 34 untilthe fork 36 is entirely out of engagement with the head 37.Consequently, for this revolution, no wire is fed nor count made,although all of the cams perform their functions.

Various modifications" may obviously be made in the various parts of theembodiment shown, all without departing from the Spirit 4of my inventionif within the limits of the appended claims. f

W hat I, therefore, claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is l.In a button setting machine, a hopper, a raceway within said hopper,mechanism for setting buttons, a reciprocating carriage for lifting thebuttons to the raceway, a rack on -said carriage having a spring pressedleading tooth, and a segmental gear 2. In a button setting machine, ahopper, a raceway within said hopper, mechanism for setting buttons, areciprocating carriage for lifting the buttons to the raceway fromwhence they feed to the setting mechanism, a vertical slide for saidcarriage, said slide having a series of fixed rack teeth and a springpressed ratchet tooth, a segmental gear for initially engaging thespring tooth and subsequently engaging said rack teeth,

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and means for actuating said gear to cause it to alternately raise saidslide and permit it to drop.

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a button hopper `supported on said frame,

a forming die, a'- shaft rotatably mounted on said frame,Y and acarryino` arm arrangedV to be operated' by said shaft to present thebuttonsjsingly within the influence of said for g die, said arm beingslidably and pivotally mounted upon said frame.

4;'In a, button setting` machine, a frame,

fa'button .slide for delivering one of a plu-y 4ralitvof buttons,forming dies, a shaft rotatably mounted on said frame, a cam fast on,said' shaft, and a .carrying'arm slidably 'and' ivo'tally mounted onsaid frame and witlnnthe influence ofl said cam, the forward end oflsaid arm 'adapted to descend upon 'and seize the head of the button tobe fed and carry it forward within theinflu'enoe of the forming dies,-in combination with yielding means mounted i, on said arm andpositioned solas to cause the forward end of said arm to be depressedbeyond normal, said yielding means being, adapted,

to permit the further revolution' of'said' cam when the buttonisproperly grasped by said arm. y

5. In 'a button setting machine, a frame, forming dies, a buttonslide'adapted for delivering one of a plurality ofA buttons within theinfluence of the forming dies, a wire .feeding mechanism, a shaftrotatably mounted in said frame, means for causing the` intermittentaction of said wirefeed' by said shaft, a cam ,fast upon said shaft, acarrying arm slidably and pivotally mounted on -said frame withintheinuence of said cam, the forward end adapted .to grasp i. furtherdescent than is permitted when the in its descent the head of theforemost button and advance it within the influencel of the formingdies', 'a yielding mechanism se. cured to said carrying arm' andeffeetive'u'nder theaction of said cam to cause the for- 'Ward end ofsaid carrying armto make a button is in place to receive'it, saidyieldin means being adapted to permitthef further revolution `of saidvcam when the button is` properly in place and the; downward movement ofysaid carrying arm' is-thereby lim ited, in combination with a. mechanismef-4 fectlve to permit said carrylng arm to re`4 lease the wirefeedingmechanism from rthe influence of said shaft 'when no lbutton ispresented Vto said carrying arm. v

6. .In a button setting machine, a frame, a drive shaft mounted in saidframe, a cas ing on said frame, a hopper in said casing, a wire feed, araceway along which the buttons move, slide carriages to supply'buttonsto said raceway, means comprising a broken gear on 'the drive shafthaving two sets of teeth, a toothed slide arranged to be verticallyreciprocated by said teeth of said broken gear, andan arm connectingsaid slide with the carriages for operating said carriages, and a membereective to grasp a single button at each'actuation thereof to present itto the wire feed.

In testimony whereof I .'aiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

R. i3. ELLMS, vEnnis SPEAR, Jr.

